Your first app on Google Play: what to do before publishing

A finished app is not yet an app in the store. Between the two are requirements that are easy to discover too late. We went this way with our own app, and here is what is worth planning from the start. Google’s rules change, so we give the sources. We checked them on 2 November 2026.

Choose the account: personal or organisation

The rest depends on this decision. An organisation account needs company details, including a D-U-N-S number. A personal account needs less, but you have to verify your identity. New personal accounts also have the requirement described below. As soon as the account is created, you make the trader status declaration.

Plan the closed test

Google requires personal accounts created after 13 November 2023 to run a closed test with at least 12 testers, opted in without a break for at least 14 days. Only then can you apply for production access.

Find the testers early and allow time for fixes after their comments. First, check in Play Console whether the requirement applies to your account. It did not cover ours: the console showed production straight away with no application.

Fill in the data safety section

The data safety section applies to everyone publishing, including apps that collect nothing. The exceptions are narrow: apps solely on the internal testing track, system services and private apps.

You must also know what the libraries in the app collect: analytics, error reports, ads, sign-in. It is best to write this down as you go.

Prepare a privacy policy

You need it at an active, public address, not as a PDF. It must match the data safety section and what the app does.

If you sell a subscription, verify it on the server

In our app, the server verifies the Google Play subscription, so its status does not depend on the phone alone. You also have to handle ordinary situations: cancellation, expiry and restoring a purchase on a new phone.

What to leave time for

Code is not everything. Plan for these too:

1. Finding testers and the two weeks of testing, if the requirement covers your account.
2. Writing down which data the app collects, libraries included.
3. Store materials: descriptions, graphics, screenshots.
4. Checking the app on real phones.

If you are not sure where to start, write to us and we’ll tell you what your case needs.